Conveyer support



L. A. COLLIS CONVEYER SUPPORT May 12, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 15, 1948 4;.. A11-Hs.

May 12, 1953 L. A. coLLls 2,538,204

l CONVEYER SUPPORT Filed Dec. l5, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 12, 1953 CONVEYER SUPPORT Leslie Alfred Collis, Radlett, England, assigner to J. Collis & Sons Limited, London, England, a

British company Application December 15, 1948, Serial No. 65,371 In Great Britain December 19, 1947 `4 Claims. (o1. 19g- 102) This invention relates to conveyors,` more particularly belt, slat and chain conveyors (hereinafter referred to generically as belt convcyors).

In co-pending United States application of Scott, Ser. No. 741,490, led April l5, 1947, now Patent No. 2,563,427, there is described and claimed a belt conveyor which is made up of a number of conveyor lunits each comprising a frame within which the conveyor belt is mounted in the usual way on, at least, end rollers the spindles of which run in bearings on the outside of the frame, the bearings at the ends of two consecutive units being carried by cradles whereby they are spaced at a predetermined distance apart and the spindles being coupled together by means of a removable self-contained coupling unit engaging therewith.

The chief object of the present invention is to provide means for increasing the frictional contact between the conveyor belt and the driving roller so that greater power may be transmitted and all chance of slip between the conveyor belt and the driving roller avoided.

The belt conveyor according to the present invention is of the form described above and is characterised in that the cradles on the stands or like supports are so constructed that the bearings on the unit frame may move upwardly and downwardly without leaving the cradles, one or more supporting rollers adapted to rotate on fixed axes being carried by the stand or like support in such positions that they are engaged by the belts before the bearings reach the bottoms of the cradles whereby the belt is nipped between said supporting roller and the end driving roller of the unit to increase the frictional contact between the conveyor belt and the end driving roller.

It is convenient to provide two supporting rollers on each stand or like support and to space their axes by a distance greater than the spacing of the axes of the end rollers of the units so that, in addition to nipping the belts the supporting rollers also function as snubbing rollers to increase the arc of contact between the conveyor belt and the driving roller.

In order that this invention may be the more clearly understood and readily carried into effect "vation of the upper end of a stand for supporting the ends of two conveyor units,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing 4a modification in which the nipping effect between the driving rollers and the supporting rollers is increased,

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating a modification in which the supporting rollers are adapted also to have a snubbing effect on the belts.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the support and coupling unit for adjacent conveyor sections,

. Figure 5 is a section taken along the plane 5-5 of Figure 4, and

Figure 6 is a section taken along the plane 6-6 of Figure 4. l

As the conveyor units and the method of coupling the same employed in carryingI out the present invention are the same as those described in the co-pending patent application referred to above no details of construction of the units have been shown in the accompanying drawings and any detailed description of the construction of the same herein is deemed to be unnecessary. Reference may be made to the specification of the said co-pending patent application for any details required.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, the method of supporting the ends of adjoining conveyor unit sections, designated generally as A and B therein illustrated is similar to that described in the above co-pending patent application and comprises cradles I0 for the bearings II on the frame Ila. for the spindles I2 of the end driving rollers I3. The coupling unit is indicated diagrammatically at C. In accordance with the present invention, however, the cradles I0 are so constructed that the bearings II are capable of sliding upwardly and downwardly therein without leaving the cradles. Rotatably mounted on fixed axes Iii at the top of the stand are two supporting rollers I5 one for each of the end rollers I3. The supporting rollers l5 are so positioned relative to the cradles It that the belts IB passing round the end rollers I3 contact the same before the bearings I I reach the bottom of the cradles. It will thus be seen that the weight of the conveyor units and the weight of the packages or other articles being conveyed thereby set up a nipping effect between the supporting rollers and the driving rollers, thus increasing the frictional contact between the conveyor belts and the driving rollers.

On the left hand side of Figure 1 the conveyor unit is shown as being provided with a snubbing roller I'I whereas no such snubbing roller is shown in the unit on the right hand side of Figure 1. Snubbing rollers such as I1 may be provided on the units or not as desired,

If desired, the nipping effect on the belts I6 may be increased by the use, for example, of a yoke i8 which bears on the bearings for the end spindles l2 and which is pulled downwardly by means of a tension spring I9, as shown in Figure 2, or alternatively, by means of a tension screw.

In the modification shown in Figure 3 the spacing between the axes I4 of the supporting rollers l5 is made greater than the spacing between the axes of the spindles l2 of the end rollers and the vertical distance between the axes lll and the bottom of the cradles I0 is reduced. In this case the nipping effect due to the weight of the conveyor units and the articles carried thereby will be set up as in the construction shown in Figure l but it will be seen that, additionally, the supporting rollers i5 have a snubbing eect in increasing the arc over which the belts i6 contact with the end rollers I3. Such an arrangement may render it unnecessary to provide snubbing rollers on the units themselves.

I claim:

1. A conveyor system including a belt and a plurality of discrete conveyor units, each unit comprising a frame, end rollers, mounted thereupon and having spindles, said belt being mounted on the rollers Within the frame, bearings on the frame, said spindles running in said bearings, cradles carrying said bearings at the ends of two adjacent units whereby to space. the bearings a pre-determined distance apart, said cradles including means for allowing said bearings to slide vertically for a limited distance, whilst remaining Within said cradles, a remov- 4 able self-contained coupling unit engaging Said spindles, so as to couple them together, and at least one idler roller together with a fixed axis upon which it is rotatable, said supporting roller, being affixed to said support in such position that a belt engages it before the bearings reach the bottom of the cradle, whereby said belt is nipped between the supporting roller and the end roller, whereby to increase frictional contact between the belt and the end roller.

2.` A belt conveyor according to claim 1 in which the axes of the supporting rollers are disposed vertically underneath the axes of the spindles of the end driving rollers.

3. A belt conveyor according to claim 1 in which the spacing between the axes of the supporting rollers is greater than the spacing between the axes of the spindles of the end driving rollers whereby the supporting rollers, in addition to their nipping effect, have a snubbing action in causing the belts to Contact with the end rollers over a greater arc.

4. A belt conveyor accerding to claim 1, including tensioning means for increasing said nipping action.

LESLE ALFRED' COLLI'S.

References cited in the sie of this patent UNITED s-rA'rEs PATENTS Number Name Date 1,769,798 Liggett July 1, 1930 2,583,471 Collis Jan. 22, 1952 

